


Ignore The Flowers Fading

by Codydarkstalker



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 07:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12765651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codydarkstalker/pseuds/Codydarkstalker
Summary: Karen keeps the flowers in her window.





	Ignore The Flowers Fading

Karen left the flowers in her window. She checked on them each day before leaving for work, and again when she got hom. She bought dark roast coffee and kept extra beer and whiskey around. Not for any reason, she told herself. She also bought an extra large first aid kit, a big bag full of gauze and bandages and antiseptic. It paid to be prepared, that’s what she told herself. 

If she found herself going home early, working on her couch with her laptop instead of in her office, well that was fine. Normal. She worked hard, maybe too hard. Everyone in the office said she was focused, so much it could be scary at time when she turned all that intensity on someone.

If she looked a little longer at the face of every beggar on the street, that was fine. She was a good person, empathetic and giving. She would give them change when they caught her eye, or offer to buy them a hotdog or coffee from a nearby cart. They appreciated it, she was nice. That was all. She never let any disappointment show when the face looking back at her wasn’t a familiar one. 

She kept her gun in her purse. It wasn’t loaded, and the safety was on, she wasn’t dumb. But she knew how to use it, made sure to make time to go to a firing range every other week and practice. She kept it clean, and in good condition.

When she came home and found her front door unlocked, she didn’t pull her gun. But she slipped a hand into her purse and wrapped her fingers around it. Her other hand gripped her cellphone so tight she thought the screen might crack, fingers hovering over the emergency dial option. 

When she saw him on the couch, all of her breath rushed out, like her soul leaving her body. She let go of the gun, fingers suddenly stiff. She put away her phone.

“I saw the flowers.” His hair was shorter, the beard was gone. He looked more like himself, but it shows the gauntness of his cheeks. “Let myself in.”

“You want coffee?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, just headed straight to the kitchen and starts the water going. She pulled down the cannister of special extra dark roast and set it next to her normal breakfast blend. The motions of making coffee are pleasantly automatic, she can turn her brain off. Heat the water, measure coffee grounds, put plastic cones over the mugs, add the filters and grounds, slowly pour the hot water over the cup. The smell is familiar, and that grounds her.

Frank was huddled up on her couch, and doesn’t move when she set his mug of coffee down on the table. Her television was on, and his eyes were glued to the screen. It’s a series on post ‘Incident’ events. The rise in sightings of meta humans. Mutants. Super heroes. Gods walking the Earth. The city tearing itself to pieces form the inside out. Cults. Gangs. New York awash in rivers of blood.

“It’s uh- a lot to take in huh?” She gestured with her mug at the screen. “Hard to believe how simple life used to be before all this.”

It took him a moment to answer. “It was never simple.” He took the mug carefully, cradling it in big scarred hands. “All simplicity is a lie.”

Karen snorted and took a sip of her coffee. It was hot, and very sweet, which was nice. But it needed something. She got off the couch, toed off her pumps, and padded back into the kitchen in her stocking feet. 

She came back a moment later with a bottle of whiskey. She took a few quick gulps of her coffee and then replaced the volume with liquor. Frank watched her out of the corner of his eye and waited for her to set the bottle down on the table before doing the same. She doesn’t say anything when he takes an extra swig straight from the bottle. Some things aren’t worth talking about, and that’s fine.

He smelled like old spice and sweat and coffee and diner grease, and it should be bad, but Karen has to fight not to lean into it. He curled in on himself and somehow took up the entire apartment at the same time. His presence made the place seem smaller, and that was nice. 

They watched the television for the better part of an hour. They drank their coffee, and then the better part of the bottle of whiskey. Karen didn’t even bother getting glasses down, they passed it back and forth between them, taking long pulls from the neck of the bottle. His hands shook when they brushed her, and the opening of the bottle was body temperature form their mouths but somehow even that was good, was right.

She didn’t recall falling asleep, but her next moment is waking up in the cold light of day. Frank, magically, still beside her. His body is warm, and his arms wrapped around her tight, just this side of too much, too tight to breath. Her phone vibrates on the table, and sunlight fights through the window shades. 

From her spot on the couch, Karen could see the flowers, still sitting there on the window sill. She reached out, slowly, carefully, and tapped her phone, silencing it entirely. She was late already, no amount of running would fix that. So instead of getting up, pulling away from Frank, and hurrying to shower, brush her teeth, get dressed, run for the rain- she settled back down. Let her head fall back against the solid heat of Frank’s chest. Lying so close, she could count the beats of his heart. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and smiled, letting the steady rhythm sooth her back to sleep. The world would go on without them for a little but, she was sure. 

“I should bring flowers more often.” Frank’s voice was low and fuzzy with sleep, the normal gravel reduced to a purring sort of rumble that Karen could feel in her teeth. “ I should bring flowers all the time.”

“You should.” Karen stilled, breath caught in her throat, as she felt Frank move. But he didn’t pull away, he just settled further into the embrace of the couch cushions and fell back asleep. A moment later and she did the same.


End file.
